Protected Areas

The protected areas module of ALCES® allows the user to specify the proportion of each land base type to receive formal protection from various industrial land uses such as forestry and the energy sector. The protected areas network within a study area can be used as a management lever within ALCES® and ALCES Mapper to explore alternative zoning strategies.  It is important for the User to understand that increasing the size of a protected area may not reduce the amount of industrial activity if the landuse is allowed to intensify its footprint on the unprotected portion of the study area. The table below identifies the area and fraction of each landscape type that is currently within a protected network.

Output variables relating to the protected areas sector generated by ALCES® for each time step and in each landscape type, include:

• area of each landscape type that is not subjected to industrial land uses;
• performance of wildlife indicators separately within and outside of protected areas network; and
• landscape metrics separately within and outside of protected areas network.

Table inputs

1.  Percent of each landscape type protected from land use
Enter the proportion (0 - 1) of each landscape type that is legislatively protected from all land use.  Examples may include provincial, federal, municipal and state parks.  If a portion of a landscape type is protected from land use, then land use may occur only on the remaining portion.  If the density of a given land use footprint exceeds the user-defined maximum level, the simulation will cease.

2.  Protected areas multiplier
Enter a value that modifies the area protected from land use.  The percent of each landscape type protected from land use is multiplied by this modifier value.  For example, a value of 0.5 would decrease protected areas by 50%; a value of 2 would double protected areas.